What to pack for labour and delivery

What to pack for labour and delivery
Not sure what to bring to your birth location? The following checklist can help.

Items for the mother

  • Health insurance card and hospital card (if applicable)
  • Birth plan
  • List of medications (if applicable)
  • Comfortable labour clothes (if you don’t want to wear the hospital gown) and warm socks
  • Dressing gown, sleepwear, and slippers
What should you pack for labour and delivery? Download our list to make sure you don’t forget anything.
 
  • Underwear
  • Clothes for the trip home
  • A maternity or nursing bra and nursing pads
  • Large, extra-absorbent sanitary pads
  • Toiletry kit: toothbrush, toothpaste, hairbrush, comb, lip balm, etc.
  • Tissues
  • Snacks
  • Cash for the vending machines, cafeteria, or parking meters
  • Books, magazines, and a pencil and paper
  • Cellphone and charger
  • Contact list with phone numbers

Items for the baby

  • Diapers and wet wipes
  • Pyjamas and undershirts
  • Blankets
  • Baby bonnet
  • Weather-appropriate clothes for the trip home
  • Infant car seat (mandatory for leaving the hospital)

Items for the mother’s partner

  • Sleepwear, a change of clothes, and a pillow (if they plan to stay overnight)
  • Food and drinks
  • Camera
  • Books or magazines
  • Toiletry kit
  • Cellphone and charger

 

Naître et grandir

Research and copywriting: The Naître et grandir team
Updated: February 2018

 

Sources

Please note that hyperlinks to other websites are not updated regularly, and some may have changed since publication. If a link is no longer valid, use search engines to find the relevant information.

  • Doré, Nicole, and Danielle Le Hénaff. From Tiny Tot to Toddler: A practical guide for parents from pregnancy to age two. Quebec City, Institut national de santé publique du Québec. www.inspq.qc.ca/en/tiny-tot.
  • The Society of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists of Canada and Best Start. Healthy Beginnings: Giving Your Baby the Best Start, from Preconception to Birth, 4th edition, Canada, 2009.